Kiel Martin's Obituary
Reproduced from the Seattle Times. Published January 2, 1991

Actor Kiel Martin, who played shady detective
Johnny ``J.D.'' LaRue on the former television series ``Hill Street
Blues,'' has died at age 46.Mr. Martin, a cast regular on the
Emmy-winning series, died Friday of cardiovascular collapse due to lung
cancer at his desert home in Rancho Mirage, 100 miles southeast of Los
Angeles, said Michael Werk, Riverside County deputy coroner.

Mr. Martin was a regular on the daytime soap ``The
Edge of Night'' before joining ``Hill Street Blues'' as a sleazy vice
cop always in some kind of trouble, usually involving money. The LaRue
character routinely tried to snare his fellow officers at the Hill
Street station in get-rich-quick schemes that usually went sour.

Born in Pittsburgh but raised in Miami, Mr. Martin
freely admitted he was ``trouble as a kid.'' According to his studio
biography, his father urged a high school drama coach to allow him to
try out for a bit role in ``Finian's Rainbow.'' He got the lead instead.

Mr. Martin began his professional acting career in
Florida repertory theatre. After moving to New York in the mid-1960s,
he became a stand-up comedian, dockworker and musician. He was signed
to a Universal Studios contract in 1967, but his fledgling career
suffered a long setback when he crashed his motorcycle into a tree. Mr.
Martin broke 15 bones in the accident and spent two years recuperating.

After the popular ``Hill Street'' series was
cancelled in 1987, Mr. Martin played a dead man given a new shot at
life in ``Second Chance,'' a short-lived Fox television series. His
film credits included ``The Panic in Needle Park'' in 1971 and ``The
Lolly Madonna War'' in 1973. His other television credits included
``Murder She Wrote,'' ``L.A. Law'' and ``The Blue Knight.''

Mr. Martin is survived by his mother, Eileen
Mueller, and daughter Jesse Martin. There will be no funeral service.